Juan José Zúñiga, responsible for the coup attempt in Bolivia, is arrested and the president accuses him of masterminding the act | the world

General Juan Jose Zuniga, responsible for the attempted coup in Bolivia, was arrested on Wednesday (26) night. Local media reported that the country’s attorney general’s office had ordered the arrest. Apart from him, former naval commander Juan Arnez Salvador was also arrested.

The Associated Press reported that Zunica was arrested at the entrance to the General Staff headquarters in La Paz, which he said was planned by President Luis Arce. The objective will be to increase the popularity of the government.

“On Sunday, at La Salle School, I met the president and he told me that the situation is very complicated,” Zuniga said. The General also said that he had received permission from the President to take the armored vehicles on the road.

As of this report’s last update, Arce had not commented on Zúñiga’s statement.

The general, who was the commander-in-chief of the Bolivian army, was removed from his post on Tuesday (25). He was fired after he said he would arrest former president Evo Morales if elected in 2025.

On Wednesday afternoon, members of the armed forces led by Zúñiga stormed the government palace in La Paz. Military units were seen massing in the streets and squares of the Bolivian capital.

President Luis Arce said democracy must be respected and that “irregular mobilizations” were taking place.

The Bolivian Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the coup attempt. Apart from Zuniga, other players involved will also be investigated.

Wednesday’s coup attempt takes place in a social context of economic problems and protests by the Bolivian people.

Also, there is a conflict between President Arce and Evo Morales. The two were partners in the past, but parted ways after Morales announced he would run in the 2025 elections.

Zuniga has already criticized Morales several times. However, it was the former president’s declaration that he would arrest Morales if re-elected that triggered the army chief’s loss of office.

To the commentator Globo News Ariel Palácios reported that Zúñiga was “beyond any kind of institution”. According to the commentator, the invasion was “an unprecedented military operation in this century”.

“Since the 1980s, the army has not been mobilized to occupy the presidential palace,” he says.

“There have been various types of popular uprisings, political movements, maneuvers to remove presidents, but a military coup in the classic style – the army taking over the square where the presidential palace is located – has not happened for decades.”

On the other hand, the coup attempt did not receive support even from opponents of the Ars government. International leaders, including President Lula, criticized the move.

Meanwhile, Ars announced new heads of the army, navy and air force and said military personnel who supported the coup had “stained their uniforms”.

Shortly after, military armored vehicles left the streets, and police set up roadblocks in front of the government palace.

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